Fee tail

This was tenure of property which could be inherited by or willed to a lineal descendant only. If there were no descendants 'of the body' upon the death of the tenant, the land reverted to the lord. Such land was thus *en-tailed. -

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Fee tail — Fee Fee (f[=e]), n. [OE. fe, feh, feoh, cattle, property, money, fief, AS. feoh cattle, property, money; the senses of property, money, arising from cattle being used in early times as a medium of exchange or payment, property chiefly consisting… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

fee tail — n. [Anglo Fr fee tailé &LT; fee (see FEE) + tailé, pp. of taillir, to cut, limit (OFr taillier): see TAILOR] an estate in real property which may be inherited only by a specified class of heirs, usually the natural children of the owner … English World dictionary

fee tail — noun a fee limited to a particular line of heirs; they are not free to sell it or give it away • Hypernyms: ↑fee * * * noun (plural fees tail) Etymology: Middle English fee taille, from Anglo French fé taillé, from Old French fé fee, fief +… … Useful english dictionary

fee tail — noun (plural fees tail) Law, chiefly historical a type of tenure in land with restrictions (entailments) regarding the line of heirs to whom it may be willed. Origin ME: from Anglo Norman Fr. fee tailé (see fee, tail2) … English new terms dictionary

fee tail — /fi ˈteɪl/ (say fee tayl) noun Law (formerly) an estate of inheritance in land with restrictions regarding the line of heirs to whom it may be willed. Compare fee simple. {Anglo French fee tailé literally, feoff limited fee (def. 4) … Australian English dictionary

fee tail — A freehold estate in which there is a fixed line of inheritable succession limited to the issue of the body of the grantee or devisee, and in which the regular and general succession of heirs at law is cut off. Coleman v. Shoemaker, 147 Kan. 689 … Black's law dictionary